Drop Yer Drawers is a non-profit 501(c)(3)
organization. Our mission is providing new underwear for disaster victims.
Formed in the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, we continue
providing this unmentionable necessity to victims of disasters in the
Greater Houston Area. Disasters, usually home and apartment fires, occur
at a rate of 3 – 4 per day robbing individuals and families of their
possessions. Friends, families, neighbors and even strangers are generous
and provide food, shelter and used clothing, but who wants to wear used
underwear? We strongly believe that after losing everything they own,
these individuals should keep their dignity by not having to wear used
underwear. These victims are so overwhelmed with the prospect of being
homeless, the last thing on their mind is shopping for this much needed
but seldom thought about necessity. Through referrals from the American
Red Cross and school nurses, Drop Yer Drawers provides this essential item
to these victims– usually within 18 hours of a disaster.
Our History
Drop Yer Drawers was created on September 2, 2005 to help provide new
underwear to residents along the Gulf Coast who fell victim to the
devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. In the days immediately following
Hurricane Katrina, citizens all over the country and world stepped up and
began donating everything imaginable: clothing, shoes, water, money, gift
cards, household items, and hygiene products. However, overwhelmingly on
every radio and tv station that aired information about what was needed,
new underwear was consistently mentioned. Drop Yer Drawers was formed to
meet this need. The scope of the organization changed when Hurricane Rita
hit this area that had already been devasted by Hurricane Katrina. The
focus changed from the Katrina disaster to that of all disasters.
Drop Yer Drawers’ initial goal was to provide this much needed item to as
many of the evacuees as possible. We strongly believe that after losing
everything they own, these individuals should keep their dignity by not
having to wear used underwear. Working in the SE Houston area, we started
with a weekend drive collecting over 2100 pairs of new underwear. Our
intent was to ‘Drop Our Drawers’ somewhere that would put them to
immediate use. We chose the Salvation Army in Pasadena, TX. They were as
excited about receiving the new underwear as we were about donating them.
Before we could empty all of the boxes, the tables were swarmed. The
underwear lasted less than 3 hours. One lady stopped to tell us that she
left her home in Louisiana with 15 family members thinking that it was
going to be for only a few days but instead they lost everything they left
behind. At this point, with hundreds of thousands of people losing
everything they owned, we realized that our meager 2100 pairs of new
underwear were just not enough.
Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit, our organization was featured on
Fox News. Immediately following the interview, the outpouring from across
the United States was amazing. Individuals and businesses from all over
the country began calling and emailing us offering their support allowing
us to provide new underwear to thousands of evacuees. Working with the
Salvation Army, new underwear was distributed in Houston, Dallas,
Arlington and Winnie. The Salvation Army reported a need for new underwear
in the Austin area. We held two drives on October 15 at Austin area Wal-Marts
to benefit evacuees. We also provided underwear to other agencies
including a United Way shelter in Baton Rouge located at the LSU Field
House, the Pearland Neighborhood Center, a shelter at the Community
Crossroads Church located in Pearland, TX and through the Rock Community
Outreach Center in Port Arthur TX.
The immediate need for Katrina and Rita evacuees is satisfied. We are
continuing the effort to provide new underwear to disaster victims.
Realizing that we need to start small and grow, we will begin by serving
disaster victims in the Gulf Coast area of Texas and progressively expand
our services throughout Texas and ultimately throughout the United States.
Please check our website frequently to see how we are succeeding.
Providing new underwear for disaster
victims........
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